


Stone out of Song

by 0positiv



Category: Dark Is Rising Sequence - Susan Cooper, Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Crossover, or maybe fandom fusion, still working out how to best get the two different kinds of magic to play nice together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10077659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0positiv/pseuds/0positiv
Summary: Another day, another Falcon case for our handsome wizard cop. So far so ordinary. But then there are weird vestigia and new probationary constables and it all just gets a bit stranger than usually.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because I am clearly a masochist I kind of started a new WIP xD I can't promise there will ever be any more than this, though, it all depends very much on my fickle muses.  
> So if you like this idea maybe leave me a comment? ;) Comments feed the muses

“Peter! Over here!”

Turning my head towards the shouting I found our friendly neighbourhood Muslim ninja Sahra Guleed impatiently bouncing up and down and waving her hand over the heads of the small crowd that inevitably gathered around crime scenes.

So I pushed my way past the people who were surreptitiously or not so surreptitiously taking pictures and filming on their phones to step behind the police line and join her at the ambulance car.

“Smile, Sahra, you're on YouTube, or will shortly be.”

“Well, so will you be so you can wipe that smug smile right off your face.”

I just shrugged and looked over to where Stepahnopoulus and Seawoll were bossing around what looked to be the newest generation of fresh faced and bright eyed probationary constables. Poor sods didn't know what they had singed up for...

“Earth to Peter, hello? Are you even listening to me?”

I snapped my attention back to a very exasperated looking Sahra who was tapping her foot and gave me a glare that reminded me uncomfortably of my mother when she was mad at me.

“Yes, sorry, I was just feeling sorry for that lot.”

Sahra followed my gesture and shrugged. “We've all gone through that, and survived, no use feeling sorry for them. So, do you want to help or just eye the new girls?”

“I always want to help, Sahra, you should know that. It's what the Folly is for.”

“And here I thought what you were for is blowing stuff up and causing even more trouble for the rest of us...”

“I came out to have some fun and I am honestly feeling so attacked right now!”

I put a dramatic hand to my heart and gaped at her in mock shock. Cause a tiny bit of property damage that one...well, two....well, a few times and you'll never live it down.

“That's it, I'm telling your boss you're not allowed on the internet until you stop quoting memes.”

“You'd first have to get him to actually understand what memes are, he's not exactly active on social media.”

Maybe I should talk Nightingale into getting a tumblr account, he could blog about suits. Now there's a thought....

“So, what's Falcon about this one? I thought it was some kind of murder suicide?”

“That's what we thought at first but now it looks more like murder and who-the-hell-knows.”

“So in the words of our esteemed DCI Seawoll: weird bollocks?”

“Maybe, no one is quite sure, which is why we called you to have a look at it.”

Sahra waved over one of the young probationary constables loitering about looking busy.

“I think I'll first let you go have a look at the scene, Peter, lets see what you think, before I influence you in any way. Stanton, take PC Grant up to the crime scene.”

I smiled at the round faced kid who came hurrying over.

“PC Peter Grant, Special Assessment Unit”, I introduced myself and stuck out my hand for him to shake.

“Will Stanton, very pleased to meet you, sir.”

As soon as I touched his hand it felt like someone had pointed a camera straight at my eyes and set off a flash so bright I couldn't see anything but light for a second. The one thing that clued me in that it hadn't been an actually flash but most likely some really strange kind of _vestigium_ was the fact that once I could see again there were no afterimages I needed to blink away. I definitely needed to ask Nightingale about visual _vestigia_.

“Are you alright, sir?”

I forced my attention back to Stanton's face and only then realised I hadn't let go of his hand yet. I didn't exactly drop it like a hot potato but I might have come close.

“Yes, sorry, shall we go put on those noddy suits then?”

“Of course, sir, right this way.”

As we both hopped and stumbled into the white paper suits I was struck with how incredibly average this young constable looked. If I had asked an artists to draw me an average English kid from the country that's most likely what they'd have come up with. Brown hair, brown eyes, white, average height and built, some kind of diluted country accent. There wasn't one remarkable thing about this kid at all, nothing that would make you remember him. Curious.

We stomped up the stairs to the attic where the first thing that struck me was the smell. Nothing like decomposing bodies right after breakfast...

There were two of them, one tied to the bed with blood all over his shirt and the other crumpled down between the bed and the wall. No obvious blood on him, as far as I could tell.

Stanton waited by the door while I went to inspect the body on the bed first. This was clearly the “murder” part of the case. As far as I could tell without removing his shirt it looked like he had been stabbed. I leaned closer to the body, looking for _vestigia_ and most likely looking like I was sniffing it to poor Stanton who was still standing by the door.

Not a trace of magic here, it seemed, the only thing close proximity to the deceased told me was that the shirt around his stab wound looked oddly singed, like the blade that killed him had been very hot.

“Hey, Stanton, come over here and have a look.”

Far be it from me to let a teaching opportunity go by unused and to be the only one smelling like rotting corpses when we left here.

Stanton obediently came over, nothing on his face showing if he was put off at all by the stench or the sight.

“What do you think about this stab wound?”

Leaning forward like I had, yet not getting quite as close to the body Stanton took a look and lifted an eyebrow.

“It looks like something burned his shirt, sir.”

I nodded and moved over to the other body. When I leaned closer to that one the _vestigia_ hit me like a fist in the gut. There was the smell of burning wood, nearly drown out by the smell of decay, fingernails on blackboard, and a sense of oppressive darkness that made it hard to breath for a moment.

Taking a few steps back and deliberately controlling my breathing so I wouldn't hyperventilate I found once again Stanton's eyes on me with concern and curiosity.

“I think I should call my guv, this is definitely a Falcon case. But first lets get back out where there is actually some breathable air.”

As I walked to the door I thought I saw Stanton step over to the second body and squat down beside it out of the corner of my eye but when I turned around to tell him off for tempering with the evidence I found him right behind me like he had never been anywhere else. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that experimental cake Molly had made for breakfast, who knows what had been in that?

Stanton followed me outside like my shadow and since no one told him to do anything else he just waited with me as I called Nightingale to fill him in.

To pass the time until Nightingale would get to the crime scene in the morning rush hour - and absolutely not just for the fun of bossing someone around - I sent Stanton off to fetch us both some coffee.

 


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Nightingale arrived in the Jag me and Stanton had found a nice wall to sit on and kick our legs while we drank the mediocre coffee he'd brought back from a bakery. He had also bought a couple of baked goods that I couldn't really identify since they were covered liberally in powdered sugar. He had offered one to me which I had declined since I still hadn't quite got the smell of death out of my head and it rather put me off anything edible.

It didn't seem to have the same effect on Stanton who was happily nibbling away on one of the things and somehow managed not to get his uniform covered in sugar. Clearly he was cheating in some way, I just didn't know in which way. If I so much as looked at anything covered in sugar it would be all over my clothes instantly.

We chatted a bit about our families to pass the time, apparently Stanton had 8 siblings, all older than him, which sounded like a right nightmare to me. I didn't even know people had that many children any longer. Apparently Will was the first in the family to go into law enforcement, though Barbara, one of his sisters, had wanted to be a lawyer at some point but had given up on that again when she realised she'd need to learn Latin for that.

By the time Nightingale had finally braved the London morning traffic, found a parking space and joined us me and Will knew just about everything about each other's family. Stanton was remarkably easy to talk to, I found. A good thing in a cop, that's for sure. Maybe he could get a confession just by sitting in the interrogation room eating scones or something.

We jumped off the wall as my guv approached and I did the introductions. I was a bit disappointed Nightingale and Stanton didn't shake hands. It would have been interesting to see if I was the only one who got zapped with strange _vestigia_ from him.

While we and Nightingale suited up again, him far less awkwardly than I, I must admit, I brought him up to speed on what I'd seen and felt at the crime scene. If Will found talk of _vestigia_ strange in any way he gave no sign of it. He just put on his suit and gloves in silence, watching us. It seems he had decided he was to stick to me like glue today unless someone else told him differently. Given that most of the other probationary constables were securing the perimeter and directing traffic I could hardly blame him.

Before we had a chance to go back into the house Seawoll walked up to us.

“Stealing another promising young constable are you, Thomas?”

“Good day to you, too, Alexander. And I have been told Mr. Stanton was ordered to assist Peter so I can hardly see how I am 'stealing' anyone.”

Seawoll just made a non-committal noise then pointed behind us at the house.

“So, this is your type of thing then? Because I really don't need another open case added to my list.”

Nightingale snapped on his rubber gloves and looked up at the house.

“Peter tells me it is very likely 'our type of thing', yes. But I have yet to take a look myself, as you can see. I shall inform you as soon as I know more, Alexander. Now, if you'll excuse us? Mr. Stanton, please lead the way.”

With a cheery wave at Seawoll and a not very cheery glare from him in return I stomped up the three flights of stairs to the attic a second time. The smell was just as bad as it was an hour ago and anyone who tells you you'll get used to it in time is clearly a liar. You might stop smelling it if you stay in the room for a few minutes but every time you leave and come back it will be just as bad.

Nightingale made a slow circle around the room before first examining the body on the bed then the one on the floor. Will was watching him with interest, especially when he squatted down next to the second body.

Of course my boss didn't do anything as undignified as stumbling back from the body in shock but I could see that he was as disturbed by the _vestigia_ as I had been.

“This is very strange indeed, Peter, you were right to call me. I don't think I have ever felt anything quite like it.”

Will was looking at us like he wanted to ask what the hell we were talking about but didn't quite think it was his place. Nightingale seemed to have realised that as well because he called him over.

“Mr. Stanton, do you find anything...unusual about his body? No, get closer, closer.”

Stanton was leaning over the body by now looking rather a bit confused.

“Apart from no obvious cause of death I fear I don't see anything strange, sir.”

“And what do you feel, or hear, or smell?”, I prompted him. “Or does it maybe just give you the creeps?”

Will looked at me a bit sceptically but leaned over the corpse again and closed his eyes.

“No, nothing apart from the usual I fear.”

He stood up again and shrugged sheepishly.

“I'm sorry, all I see is a dead man.”

“That's quite alright, Mr. Stanton. Now, if you could be so kind and make sure someone calls Dr. Walid and tells him we have some work for him? And, if you could also arrange for the bodies to be transported to him at the earliest convenience, I would be much obliged.”

Will nodded and hurried downstairs. Maybe he was just glad to be away from the two strange men smelling corpses.

“What did you feel, Peter?”

“Very strong _vestigia_ , burning wood, something that sounded like nails dragged over a blackboard and darkness, darkness so deep it takes your breath away.”

Nightingale nodded.

“I couldn't have phrased it better myself. That darkness especially disturbs me. And also how strong the _vestigia_ still are even though the bodies have been clearly lying here for quite a while and corpses don't retain _vestigia_ well. Lets go downstairs and put Alexander out of his misery. And maybe he can fill us in on the rest of this case.”

As it turned out as soon as DCI Seawoll heard it was a Falcon case he left as fast as possible without looking like he was fleeing and left us Sahra as liaison and to brief us on the case. I'm definitely not complaining, I far prefer working with Sahra.

“So far we have two unidentified males, going by the state of the bodies and the reasonably warm weather we've been having I'd say they have been dead a few days but I am sure Dr. Walid can give you a better estimate. The flat they were found in was supposed to be empty, the owner was about to show it to a potential tenant when they discovered the bodies.”

“I guess the tenant won't be taking the flat then, shame, it looked rather nice.”

Nightingale shot me a long-suffering look for that comment and Sahra just ignored it and when on reading from her notes.

“Last time the owner has been up there before today was a week ago. Everything had been fine then, no sign anyone had been in the flat for weeks. So far we found no sign of forced entry so either our two mystery men had a key or were good with lock picks. Nothing has been stolen, as far as the owner could tell, but there wasn't anything of value up there anyway it seems, just some cheap furniture. The tenants on the other floors didn't hear or see anything unusual, but then they also didn't wonder about the smell so they don't seem to be all that observant. And that's it, now you know as much as I know.”

She put her notebook away and looked over to the house where the bodies were just being brought out.

“I guess I'll leave you two to it then, and I'll leave you Stanton, too, at least he's got a strong stomach from what I've seen. If you need me you can give me a call.”

 

 


End file.
